Monthly giving programs: Why and how to invest

Building a strong recurring giving program is no longer a nice-to-have but critical to nonprofits’ sustainability and scalability.

Charitable dollars increased 5% in 2025, the strongest growth rate in five years, according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project. Yet, donor count fell by 3.6%, meaning fewer donors gave. When nonprofits can’t rely on reaching more donors to grow, they have to build stronger, longer-lasting relationships with the supporters they already have.

That’s exactly what recurring giving does.

Below, we’ll define the value and appeal of recurring giving in today’s fundraising ecosystem and discuss four best practice approaches to building a successful monthly donor giving program.

What is recurring giving?

Recurring donations, also known as subscription giving, occur when donors sign up to give automatically at a specified interval. These are most often in the form of monthly donations, but daily, weekly, biweekly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual giving are all options, too. 

Recurring giving has become a cornerstone of sustainable fundraising because it provides predictable revenue, improves financial stability, and increases donor lifetime value. While many nonprofits once struggled to offer recurring donations due to limitations in payment technology and donor management tools, today’s fundraising platforms make it easier than ever to build and grow a recurring giving program.

As a result, nonprofits are shifting from treating recurring giving as simply another donation option to building intentional donor experiences that strengthen long-term relationships and inspire ongoing support.

Here’s a breakdown in our ultimate guide to recurring giving.

Turn subscription habits into recurring support

The global subscription economy is growing fast, with a projection to reach $1.5 trillion by 2033. From artisan coffees and cat food to music services and streaming platforms, people have gotten used to the subscription model, paying a set amount each month for goods or services.

In fact, recent surveys have shown that subscriptions are as popular as ever, with 51% of people likely to start a new subscription within the next six months, and 59% saying that excitement is their top emotion when signing up for a new monthly service.

Nonprofits can respond to this consumer shift by framing their recurring giving programs as subscription donations and implementing the best practices from today’s most successful subscription services.

With some subtle tweaks and intentional messaging, your nonprofit can capitalize on the ease subscription services offer to take your recurring giving program to the next level.

5 tips for increasing recurring donations

Successful subscription brands have mastered the art of earning long-term loyalty. Here are a few strategies your organization can adapt to grow and retain recurring donors.

Customize your ask

When communicating with donors, personalization is key, and today’s intelligence makes this easier than ever.

Intelligent Ask Amounts from GoFundMe Pro uses artificial intelligence (AI) to personalize each donor’s giving experience based on who they are and what your campaign needs to achieve. Your donation form adapts to your goal, whether that’s boosting crisis revenue or growing recurring gifts.

When your goal is growing recurring giving, Intelligent Ask Amounts can take that personalization a step further. It shows a gentle, branded monthly gift prompt to donors most likely to consider recurring support while keeping the experience focused for donors more likely to give once.

This targeted approach delivers a 38% lift in recurring gift conversions, with no meaningful impact to one-time giving rates.

Enable automated online payments

Because the subscription economy doesn’t rely on members to return each month to settle their bills, they only need to set up their payment information once to seamlessly automate the charge at the agreed-upon frequency.

Today, nonprofits can seamlessly enable supporters to set up recurring donations with their preferred payment methods through software like GoFundMe Pay, such as credit cards, ACH bank transfer, digital wallets, PayPal, and Venmo.

Treat your community as exclusive members

Companies like Amazon Prime and Disney+ treat subscribers as exclusive members through strategies like special member days and branding. For example, Amazon Prime streaming service subscribers get special perks like Prime Day shopping discounts, fast, free delivery on eligible Amazon items, and grocery discounts at Whole Foods.

Try giving your recurring donor community a special name and offering members unique opportunities and access throughout the year.

Offer membership tiers

Subscription services often offer price tiers based on users, features, or professional status to balance value and cost. Apply this to donations by promoting giving levels with special perks.

Offer discounts

Another common strategy used with subscription services is offering first-year pricing discounts to encourage new members to join. Nonprofits can institute a discount by encouraging donors to request a donation match from their employer to gain the benefits of a higher membership level without paying the additional cost.

What are the benefits of a monthly giving program for nonprofits?

Research has found that acquiring a new customer can cost 5–25x more than retaining an existing one. The same principle applies to nonprofits.

Keeping donors engaged through a monthly giving program is one of the best ways to protect your budget and fuel a steady source of income. Here are some of the benefits of recurring giving:

• Increased revenue: Even though monthly donors may give smaller amounts on a per-gift basis, the total amount they give annually almost always adds up to more. M+R Benchmarks show that recurring donors now generate a third or more of revenue for many nonprofits, with that share increasing as organizations scale.
• Easy and effective giving processes: A monthly recurring donation allows supporters to spread the financial impact of their giving across the entire year.
• Improved cash flow: Nonprofits that power their fundraising with GoFundMe Pro see an average recurring donation of $45 compared to the $28 industry benchmark reported by M+R Benchmarks. Since nonprofits often receive most of their income during a seasonal donation window, their revenue may feel stretched outside those major giving days. Building a predictable monthly revenue stream helps to reduce this imbalance and provide much-needed support during your organization’s lull periods.
• Better long-term planning: Neon One’s 2026 Recurring Donor Report found recurring donor retention holds between 78% and 80% versus 32% for one-time donors. Recurring donors also stay engaged for nearly eight years, on average.
• Greater cost-effectiveness: Since the costs of maintaining donors are generally lower than acquiring new ones, monthly recurring donors can deliver more value over time while helping reduce acquisition costs. Industry-wide, recurring donors are 5–7x more valuable than one-time donors, based on multiple studies compiled in Dave Raley’s “The Rise of Sustainable Giving.” On GoFundMe Pro, they’re 10x more valuable.*
• Strengthened donor loyalty and engagement: Roughly 97% of the value of a subscription donor comes after the first recurring gift. They often go beyond giving money by volunteering, attending events, advocating for your cause, or fundraising on your behalf, all in addition to their monthly commitment.
• Heightened sense of community: The key to donor retention is nurturing a deep sense of trust and collaboration with your community. Every month, when a donor makes their contribution, you have the chance to start an organic conversation and remind them of their impact on your nonprofit.

*Based on 2025 internal GoFundMe Pro analysis, comparing lifetime value of recurring vs. one-time donors. Results vary.

Getting started with nonprofit monthly giving programs

Now that you understand the value of recurring giving programs, here’s how to implement one for your organization:

• Start by defining your monthly recurring revenue target, number of active donors, and retention benchmarks.
• Identify your best prospects among existing donors and target these first.
• Choose a program model that fits your audience.
• Give your program a distinct name and identity. See these monthly giving program examples for inspiration.
• Make sure a recurring giving option is visible on every donation form.
• Announce the program to your most loyal supporters first, then promote it broadly across email, social media, and your website.

Learn more about how to build a successful program in our recurring giving playbook.

How can nonprofits encourage recurring donations?

Some of the most common strategies for acquiring more recurring donations include making a monthly giving option visible on every nonprofit donation form, tailoring messaging to existing recurring donors by encouraging them to upgrade their gifts, offering membership tiers and perks, and creating email templates for outreach to repeat donors.

Better yet, Intelligent Ask Amounts automatically tailors your donation requests based on each donor.

However, remember that people typically won’t opt into a recurring gift without education around its value and impact. That’s why it’s also best practice to have a dedicated recurring donations campaign that explains why this giving type is so powerful, which we cover more below.

4 best practice approaches to recurring giving programs

Your nonprofit must decide which type of recurring giving program or strategy best suits your community. There are four main approaches to consider.

Membership program

Membership programs invite your donors to join a community of givers. A nonprofit may offer the members of this community certain benefits or perks, such as VIP event tickets, appreciation events, branded membership pins, or other swag. Many nonprofits will also create a specific name for that community and special branding for the program. For example, the Circle of Givers or Champions of Hope.

The key benefit of this approach is that it makes recurring donors feel more valued and connected to a group of like-minded supporters. This is a great marketing strategy, as it provides a community feel rather than coming across as transactional.

A potential downside to this giving campaign is that it requires a larger time commitment to keep up with specific member communications, promised incentives, and other program-specific tasks. However, these can all lead to an elevated donor experience that builds loyalty.

Sponsorship opportunity

Another approach to recurring giving programs is to frame the donation as a way to sponsor a specific initiative, child, family, animal, or other recipient of your nonprofit’s services. A key benefit to this recurring fundraising strategy is that it makes the donation experience more personalized and meaningful, as donors feel close and connected to the beneficiary of their gift. Some nonprofits may even be able to help arrange for the child or family to write letters to the donor to further build an emotional connection to the cause.

However, one thing to consider with this approach is that typically donations from recurring giving programs go to a general fund rather than directly sponsoring a specific child or family. This isn’t always the case, but if it is, you may have some challenges with messaging to ensure you don’t mislead your supporters.

Incentivized giving levels

Incentive-based programs encourage recurring giving by offering unique perks for each gift amount, such as branded swag, special communications, or member-only events. A benefit to this fundraising effort is that incentives can lead to higher monthly gift amounts. In addition, these types of benefits are a nice way to say thank you to donors for choosing to join your cause.

The downside to this approach is that it can be difficult for some nonprofits to afford incentives. You’ll need to first determine whether it’s worth it to spend money on these items, given the impact you expect them to have on acquiring recurring donors. Then, you may want to see if one of your local partners or a corporate sponsor can help.

Exchange programs

Exchange programs show items people could forgo in exchange for a recurring gift. For example, a new donor could skip a $7 monthly latte to make a donation instead, or an existing donor could gift the money they’d typically spend on a streaming service each month.

The benefit of an exchange program approach is that it’s a good way to motivate donors by showing how easy it is to make an impact. Test this approach with a specific audience segment first, as it might make more sense for and appeal to younger donors. A time-specific promotional campaign might also be a good opportunity to see if this resonates with your supporters.

Leverage recurring donations to strengthen donor relationships

Regardless of which type of recurring giving program you choose, remember that communicating and building relationships with your donors are the most important elements.

Focus your energy on making donors feel special and valued. If you need to sacrifice incentives to improve your communication with donors, do it. The goal is to keep your donors happy and build relationships with them that will retain and grow their support over time.

A robust monthly giving program is a win-win for everyone: Your donors feel like they’re part of an engaged community that cares about the things they do, and your organization builds a reliable revenue stream that helps you realize your goals faster.

See how GoFundMe Pro fuels stronger recurring giving programs.

Copy editor: Ayanna Julien